Xanana Gusmao

Xanana Gusmao (20 June 1946-) was Prime Minister of East Timor from 8 August 2007 to 16 February 2015, succeeding Estanislau da Silva and preceding Rui Maria de Araujo.

Biography
Jose Alexandre Gusmao was born on 20 June 1946 to a mixed Catholic Portuguese-Timorese family in Manatuto, Portuguese Timor. He was nicknamed "Xanana" after the American rock band Sha Na Na, and he served in the Portuguese Army before joining FRETILIN as its Press Secretary during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. Gusmao was heavily-involved in the resistance against Indonesia, and he publicized the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre by the Indonesian Army. As a leader of the United Nations government of East Timor, Gusmao came to be known as the de facto leader of East Timor as it gained independence. From 2007 to 2015, Gusmao served as Prime Minister, surviving an assassination attempt hours after Jose Ramos-Horta was also shot at.